It's getting harder to find holiday employees with unemployment now at 4.2%, the lowest jobless rate since 2001. The Labor Department said Wednesday that there are 6.1 million unfilled job openings across the economy, essentially unchanged from the record level reached the month before. A little over one in ten of those openings are in retail.

Earlier this fall Walmart(WMT), the nation's largest employer, said it would fill its need for more seasonal help by giving additional hours to its existing part-time workers, rather than bringing on additional employees.